Nicki Minaj took center stage at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards as she not only hosted the main event, but performed a brand new song and added to her sprawling trophy collection.
In between her emceeing duties inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Tuesday night (September 12), the Young Money hitmaker gave a live debut to her latest single “Last Time I Saw You.”
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The tender performance, which saw Nicki recite her wistful lyrics stood largely in one spot and hiding her figure underneath a large black gown, gave way to a high-energy rendition of an unreleased track from her upcoming album Pink Friday 2 (out November 17).
“I like my hundreds blue/ Bad bitches, yeah, I keep ’em by the two/ It’s a big difference between me and you/ I ain’t nothing like you, you, you or you,” she raps on the hook over a hard-hitting beat, reasserting her status as the Queen of Hip Hop.
Later that night, Nicki Minaj returned to the stage a winner as she accepted the award for Best Hip Hop Video for “Super Freaky Girl.”
The Queens, New York native beat out Diddy (“Gotta Move On”), DJ Khaled (“Staying Alive”), GloRilla and Cardi B (“Tomorrow 2”), Lil Uzi Vert (“Just Wanna Rock”), Lil Wayne (“Kant Nobody”) and Metro Boomin (“Superhero [Heroes & Villains]”).
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“You guys, thank you so much,” she said during her victory speech. “You know what? So often I joke around and play around and stuff, but tonight, I don’t know why, but this morning when I woke up, I had this really strong sense of gratitude. And that’s the truth.
“So I just want to say I thank you guys, the people who go out and support, the people who never skip a beat on the internet holding us down, the people who are at the tours. And MTV, thank you for showcasing rap and thank you for showing me love.”
Towards the end, Nicki asked the crowd if they thought she should leave on a “mean” or a “nice” note, to which they overwhelmingly cheered for the former. “It’s Barbie, bitch!” the Barbz boss growled into the mic before departing the stage.
The win makes it a record fifth Best Hip Hop award for Nicki Minaj, who previously won in the category for “Super Bass” (2011), “Anaconda” (2015), “Chun-Li” (2018) and “Do We Have a Problem?” (2022).
Nicki’s night wasn’t done there, though, as she later joined Lil Wayne, LL COOL J, Run-DMC and other rap legends for a special performance celebrating Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary to close out the show.
The all-star medley opened with Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message” and Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s “The Show,” before Nicki brought fans into the 21st century with “Itty Bitty Piggy” and “Red Ruby da Sleeze.”
Her Young Money mentor Weezy then picked up the baton and performed “A Milli,” paving the way for LL COOL J (“I’m Bad,” “Mama Said Knock You Out”) and Run-DMC (“Rock Box,” “Walk This Way”) to bring it home.
Check out the full list of 2023 MTV VMAs winners below:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY BURGER KING®
Doja Cat — “Attention”
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Nicki Minaj — “Super Freaky Girl”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Vampire”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras — “Unholy”
SZA — “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero” (WINNER)
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Beyoncé
Doja Cat
Karol G
Nicki Minaj
Shakira
Taylor Swift (WINNER)
SONG OF THE YEAR
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Vampire”
Rema & Selena Gomez — “Calm Down”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras — “Unholy”
Steve Lacy — “Bad Habit”
SZA — “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero” (WINNER)
BEST NEW ARTIST
Glorilla
Ice Spice (WINNER)
Kaliii
Peso Pluma
PinkPantheress
Reneé Rapp
PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
August 2022: Saucy Santana — “Booty”
September 2022: Stephen Sanchez — “Until I Found You”
October 2022: Jvke — “Golden Hour”
November 2022: Flo Milli — “Conceited”
December 2022: Reneé Rapp — “Colorado”
January 2023: Sam Ryder — “All the Way Over”
February 2023: Armani White — “Goated”
March 2023: Fletcher — “Becky’s So Hot”
April 2023: Tomorrow X Together — “Sugar Rush Ride” (WINNER)
May 2023: Ice Spice — “Princess Diana”
June 2023: Flo — “Losing You”
July 2023: Lauren Spencer Smith — “That Part”
BEST COLLABORATION
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha — “I’m Good (Blue)”
Post Malone & Doja Cat — “I Like You (A Happier Song)”
Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti & Yung Miami — “Gotta Move On”
Karol G & Shakira — “TQG” (WINNER)
Metro Boomin ft. The Weeknd, 21 Savage & Diddy — “Creepin’ (Remix)”
Rema & Selena Gomez — “Calm Down”
BEST POP
Demi Lovato — “Swine”
Dua Lipa — “Dance the Night”
Ed Sheeran — “Eyes Closed”
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Vampire”
P!nk — “Trustfall”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero” (WINNER)
BEST HIP HOP
Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti & Yung Miami — “Gotta Move On”
DJ Khaled ft. Drake & Lil Baby — “Staying Alive”
GloRilla & Cardi B — “Tomorrow 2”
Lil Uzi Vert — “Just Wanna Rock”
Lil Wayne ft. Swizz Beatz & DMX — “Kant Nobody”
Metro Boomin ft. Future — “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)”
Nicki Minaj — “Super Freaky Girl” (WINNER)
BEST R&B
Alicia Keys ft. Lucky Daye — “Stay”
Chlöe ft. Chris Brown — “How Does It Feel”
Metro Boomin ft. The Weeknd, 21 Savage & Diddy — “Creepin’ (Remix)”
SZA — “Shirt” (WINNER)
Toosii — “Favorite Song”
Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj — “Love in the Way”
BEST ALTERNATIVE
Blink-182 — “Edging”
Boygenius — “The Film”
Fall Out Boy — “Hold Me Like a Grudge”
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste — “Candy Necklace” (WINNER)
Paramore — “This Is Why”
Thirty Seconds to Mars — “Stuck”
BEST ROCK
Foo Fighters — “The Teacher”
Linkin Park — “Lost (Original Version)”
Red Hot Chili Peppers — “Tippa My Tongue”
Måneskin — “The Loneliest” (WINNER)
Metallica — “Lux Æterna”
Muse — “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”
BEST LATIN
Anitta — “Funk Rave” (WINNER)
Bad Bunny — “Where She Goes”
Eslabon Armado & Peso Pluma — “Ella Baila Sola”
Grupo Frontera & Bad Bunny — “Un X100to”
Karol G & Shakira — “TQG”
Rosalía — “Despechá”
Shakira — “Acróstico”
BEST K-POP
Aespa — “Girls”
Blackpink — “Pink Venom”
Fifty Fifty — “Cupid”
Seventeen — “Super”
Stray Kids — “S-Class” (WINNER)
Tomorrow X Together — “Sugar Rush Ride”
BEST AFROBEATS
Ayra Starr — “Rush”
Burna Boy — “It’s Plenty”
Davido ft. Musa Keys — “Unavailable”
Fireboy DML & Asake — “Bandana”
Libianca — “People”
Rema & Selena Gomez — “Calm Down” (WINNER)
Wizkid ft. Ayra Starr — “2 Sugar”
VIDEO FOR GOOD
Alicia Keys — “If I Ain’t Got You (Orchestral)”
Bad Bunny — “El Apagón – Aquí Vive Gente”
Demi Lovato — “Swine”
Dove Cameron — “Breakfast” (WINNER)
Imagine Dragons — “Crushed”
Maluma — “La Reina”
BEST DIRECTION
Doja Cat — “Attention”
Drake — “Falling Back”
Kendrick Lamar — “Count Me Out”
Megan Thee Stallion — “Her”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras — “Unholy”
SZA — “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero” (WINNER)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adele — “I Drink Wine”
Ed Sheeran — “Eyes Closed”
Janelle Monáe — “Lipstick Lover”
Kendrick Lamar — “Count Me Out”
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Vampire”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero” (WINNER)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Fall Out Boy — “Love From the Other Side”
Harry Styles — “Music for a Sushi Restaurant”
Melanie Martinez — “Void”
Nicki Minaj — “Super Freaky Girl”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras — “Unholy”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero” (WINNER)
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Blackpink — “Pink Venom” (WINNER)
Dua Lipa — “Dance the Night”
Jonas Brothers — “Waffle House”
Megan Thee Stallion — “Her”
Panic! at the Disco — “Middle of a Breakup”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras — “Unholy”
BEST ART DIRECTION
Boygenius — “The Film”
Blackpink — “Pink Venom”
Doja Cat — “Attention” (WINNER)
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste — “Candy Necklace”
Megan Thee Stallion — “Her”
SZA — “Shirt”
BEST EDITING
Blackpink — “Pink Venom”
Kendrick Lamar — “Rich Spirit”
Miley Cyrus — “River”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Vampire” (WINNER)
SZA — “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
SHOW OF THE SUMMER
Beyoncé
Blackpink
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Karol G
Taylor Swift (WINNER)
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blackpink (WINNER)
Fifty Fifty
Flo
Jonas Brothers
Måneskin
NewJeans
Seventeen
Tomorrow x Together
SONG OF THE SUMMER, PRESENTED BY M&M’S®
Beyoncé — “Cuff It”
Billie Eilish — “What Was I Made For?”
Doja Cat — “Paint the Town Red”
Doechii ft. Kodak Black — “What It Is”
Dua Lipa — “Dance the Night”
Fifty Fifty — “Cupid”
Gunna — “Fukumean”
Jung Kook ft. Latto — “Seven” (WINNER)
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice — “Barbie World”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Vampire”
SZA — “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice — “Karma”
Tomorrow x Together & Jonas Brothers — “Do It Like That”
Luke Combs — “Fast Car”
Troye Sivan — “Rush”
Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma — “La Bebé (Remix)”
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Beyoncé — Renaissance
Drake & 21 Savage — Her Loss
Metro Boomin — Heroes & Villains
Miley Cyrus — Endless Summer Vacation
SZA — SOS
Taylor Swift — Midnights (WINNER)
